


Despite it All

by Finn35



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Age Difference, Domestic Fluff, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Racist Language, Reformation, Sexual Frustration, sexual dreams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24688648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finn35/pseuds/Finn35
Summary: At age 48 Ernest Darby figured he was past the chance of love and the often documented want of a family. At age 23 Riley Teller didn't think she would feel the want to be with someone not only over twice her age but the leader of a group whose purpose she despised. Well, we all know life doesn't go how you planned and love makes no fucking sense, so suck it up.
Relationships: Clay Morrow/Gemma Teller Morrow, Donna Winston/Opie Winston, Ernest Darby/Original Female Character, Tara Knowles/Jax Teller
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. God, I am fucked (and not in the good way)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.
> 
> This work was inspired by a dream I had about falling in love with Ernest Darby and now I am obsessed with Mitch Pileggi and can't stop thinking about Ernest Darby ideas or X-Files Walter Skinner ideas. Ernest Darby is a hard character to write but I hope folks like this story. I have it posted on ff.net and wattpad, but forgot to post it here till i was gonna post the 5th chapter and realized the other 4 weren't here. I apologize for that. Please leave a comment so I know what you think!!!

Riley Teller’s attraction to Ernest Darby was seriously weirding her out. He had to be at least 50 and she was only 23. He was the leader of a group that stood for everything she was against but damn of she didn't want to taste his lips. That was a constant thought since she first saw him when she moved to Charming, CA to help her cousin with his son. He was walking around in a wife beater with some of his Aryan buddies when he looked her straight in the eye. His eyes were intense as they stared at each other before she broke the gaze, feeling slightly aroused. Shit, she always had something for intense gazes and shit! And it wasn’t even the first time she had seen him, she had even met him in person years ago. But she was a girl then, and her attractions were limited to cartoon characters and Hugh Jackman back then.

Darby seemed to keep an eye on her too, watching her as she walked by him. His gaze was like fire, burning into her very soul. Anytime she felt that gaze on she felt her heart start to pound and stomach flip in ways she has never felt before. It was really freaking her out. And she couldn’t really talk to anyone about it because everyone would just judge her for an attraction to someone so much older. Well, except for maybe Tig… He was into some pretty freaky shit so he might not judge if she doesn’t tell him who she is into. She decided she would do just that, she really needed to get this off her chest.

Once Riley reached the club house she made a beeline for Tig, who was sitting at the bar eyeing up a random croweater. His eyes flicked to her as she approached him, eyebrows raised in question. Riley took a deep breath before speaking.

“Could I maybe talk to you privately?” Tig took in her nervous state and his eyes narrowed.

“If you are trying to confess your love for me, sorry sweetheart, don’t want to hurt your feelings but I’m not interested.” Riley snorted out a small laugh before sobering, remembering why she wanted to talk to him in the first place.

“Fuck no man! No I…” She sighed and looked at him with anxious eyes. “I just need to get something off my chest and you are the only person I trust to not judge me.” This took the man by surprise. Tig stood and waved her forward toward his dorm where they could have some privacy. The Sergeant at Arms was definitely curious as to what the princess thought she had to hide from everyone else. He waited till his door was closed and they were seated on opposite sides of the couch facing each other to finally voice his question.

“Okay doll, spill. I am very curious to know what you feel you can only talk to me about. Must be pretty juicy.” Riley sucked in a deep breath before standing and starting to pace in front of Tig, confusing him further. “Whoa okay. Calm down sweetheart, it can’t be that bad.” She shook her head at him, trying to gather the courage to tell him. She finally stopped and turned to face and just blurted it out.

“Iamintosomeonewhoisatleast50!!!” It came out all jumbled together and Tig blinked, then his eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher what she had said.

“Okay, I got that you are into someone and that’s it.” Riley groaned and ran her hands down her face. She really didn’t want to repeat it, but she knew she needed to.

“I have a thing for someone who is at least 50…” This made Tig blink again. Then he cocked his head to the side.

“Is it Bobby?...” Riley started to giggle.

“God no. It’s not a Son… And I seriously don’t get why I am even into him.” Tig hummed.

“Well, you have always been into older guys, I mean you were obsessed with Hugh Jackman for the longest time. Even argued with Gemma over who would get him if he ever showed up. I can’t say I am too surprised there. So who is it?” Riley’s eyes went wide and she started to shake her head violently.

“No no no! I am so not telling you that. You would either make fun of me or be disgusted by me.” Tig looked concerned now.

“Sweetheart, while I will probably make fun of you, there is no denying that, I could never be disgusted with you. Okay? It’s obvious that you are dying to talk to someone about this, so lay it on me. You know I don’t judge people for their attractions.” Riley was still really unsure, but relented because he was right. She really needed to tell someone and talk to them about it. She sat heavily on the couch back in the corner then finally told him.

“It’s Darby.” Tig froze and blinked a few times before he trusted himself to speak.

“I’m sorry, did you just say Darby? As in Ernest Darby?” Riley curled in on herself and slowly nodded in affirmation. “Oh honey, why?” Riley looked up at him in irritation.

“I already told you I don’t know why! You think I fucking asked for this? I just saw him as I was driving into town and our eyes locked and his gaze was so fucking intense that I got shivers man! Then I just couldn’t stop thinking about him! It doesn’t help he keeps staring at me everytime he notices me in town. And fucked up part, I’m starting to fucking like it! The fuck is wrong with me!?” Tig sighed and pulled her into a hug.

“Now I totally get why you didn’t want to tell anyone else. Just how serious is this on your end Riley?” She growled before sighing in defeat and slumped into his bigger body.

“I am constantly thinking about him, whenever we are anywhere near each other my heart starts to pound and my stomach does back flips. When I see any of those stupid whores hanging off of him I want to slit their throats. And whenever I go a few days without seeing him, even in passing, my chest starts to hurt and I get depressed.”

“Yeesh, sounds like you got it bad princess. Only thing I can think of, and I am hating myself for saying this, is try to get close to him. See where he is at. I know from experience you can’t just ignore those kinds of feelings. You’ll just end up hurting yourself in the end. Now we should keep this a secret for now, but if something is there between you guys, we are going to have to tell everyone something. Just be careful okay? I don’t trust Darby but you are a grown woman and can make your own decisions, alright?” Riley was beyond shocked. She had been expecting him to tell her to bury her feelings and hope they went away. She definitely didn’t expect this kind of support from him, and also not him keeping her secret.  
“Alright, thank you so much Tig.” The man sighed.

“Don’t thank me yet sweetheart, I may have just set you up for heartbreak.”

-TIMEY-WIMEY-  
Ernest Darby had been feeling like a dirty old man recently. Ever since he locked eyes with the little blonde with green eyes as she rolled into town. He later found out the little blonde he had been eyeing was none other than Riley Teller. He couldn’t believe he was lusting after a girl he had known as a child. Granted he hadn’t known who she was at first, but the thoughts didn’t stop when he found out either. He just couldn’t stop thinking about her, couldn’t stop staring at her whenever he happened to see her walking through town. Didn’t help that she would sometimes stare back.

The thoughts that got to Darby the most was when he would see her walking around pushing Abel in a stroller, or carrying him in a store. At that point it wasn’t just sexual fantasies, which he could deal with, but it was domestic shit too. Visions of her pregnant in HIS house inferring that it was his kid, her carrying around a baby with dark hair and her pretty green eyes, him coming home to her cooking dinner, late nights in front of the TV with her in his arms. Fuck! He can’t be thinking shit like that, for many reasons. One he was too old to have that shit now, two she would never want to be with an old man like him, and three even if by some miracle she did actually have similar thoughts, the Sons would kill him if they even thought he wanted to touch their little princess.

Ernest sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He wasn’t getting much sleep lately. These foreign thoughts were haunting his dreams now. He just didn’t understand why this was happening to him now of all times. Despite popular belief he may only be 48, but he was still too old to find someone to have a family with now. Oh he knows most people think he was at least 50 thanks to his hair going gray by the time he was 40, and he didn’t often correct the assumption because it didn’t have anything to do with matters of business. But now he knew if his little secret ever came out for some reason, the false information would just make everything worse. Not that his real age was much better, it was still a 25 year age difference between him and little Miss Teller.

He had been trying to put her out of his mind when she walked into his workshop. Ernest looked up to the ceiling, asking himself why he was being tortured. He was trying to be good and not think about her, why did she have to come here and invoke more thoughts. He sighed and looked around. He supposed he was lucky that the other guys were out on a few deliveries and he wouldn’t have to explain why he wanted to talk to her himself. He just moved toward the front desk to address her.

“What can I do for you Miss Teller?” That was good, be professional. Now if only he could stop staring at her and thinking about what her mouth tasted like and he would be golden. She tilted her head to the side and stared him straight in the eye. Fuck it was just like when she drove into town and he needed to look away, but it was liked he was trapped in the gaze of this young woman that was twisting him up inside, and it only got worse when she spoke.

“You know, I think you can call be Riley, Mr. Darby.”

“Ernest.” It had been out of his mouth before he even had the chance to think. Once his mind caught up with his mouth he mentally berated himself. How the fuck was her saying his first name going to help the situation. Only good thing was the fact that she was grinning at him now. He wondered what that was about.

“Alright _Ernest_.” Oh he really wished she wouldn’t say his name like that. It really wasn’t fair. He cleared his throat.

“Right, what can I do for you Riley?” That got a small sigh from her. The hell was going on here exactly? He didn’t have much time to ponder it before she spoke again.

“I would like to commission a custom rocking chair. I need one for my place for when Abel stays at my house and I don’t want some crappy store bought one, so I thought why not come here and have one made?” Cue images of Riley and the aforementioned dark hair green eyed child in a rocking chair he had personally made… This project was really going to fuck with his head. And though he had others that could do it, he would kill anyone else who tried to make her anything he could make. There is no way in hell he would allow that. Great, now he was feeling possessive of a woman who would never be his. Fantastic. Ernest pulled himself out of his thoughts to speak to her again.

“Do you have any idea what you want it to look like? Color, type of wood, high back?” Riley shook her head.

“I leave the design and make completely in your capable hands. Surprise me.” God, she was killing him. He didn’t even understand why that was getting to him so much. It wasn’t like she was trusting him with much, he had been doing this for decades so it wasn’t like no one else had given him free rein, but it was different in this instance. She was trusting him with something, no matter how small. She trusted him… Ernest violently shoves those thoughts away before they make him do something stupid.

“Alright, I’ll work on the design today and I should have the chair itself done in about two weeks. Won’t know what the price will be for at least a week. That good?” Riley gave mischievous smile.  
“Sounds perfect. Gives me a reason to come back to see you.” Ernest froze and stared at her. What was that now? He didn’t get a chance to ask her before she walked out the door with a final wave. He was left staring into space, wondering if the whole encounter was just another strange fantasy of his. There was no way Riley Teller would actually say she wanted to come to see him, right? He must have just been imagining that. Yeah that was it. Just an old man’s wishful thinking.

He heaved a sigh before he pulled out a sketch pad to draw out a design. He knew this project was going to really fuck him up, because he knew she would be one day using it with her own children, children that would never be his no matter the weird ass fantasies he was having, and secretly wishing could be true. God he was getting fucking sentimental, and he was hating every minute of it. Anyway, the way he was going to get through this project was letting his fantasies play through his mind and putting as much care as he could into making the chair because it was the closest he would ever come to being with Riley Teller.


	2. Dreams, Depression, Hopes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotions can be painful, especially if you don't understand them. And Ernest sure doesn't.

Riley walked out of the workshop with cheeks flaming. She can't believe she just said that! The hell was she thinking!? She groaned to herself and went to her truck. She couldn't believe she let that slip out! Well, she supposed it was a good thing that he hadn't said anything bad about the slip. She shook it off and started up her truck to head home. She really hoped this all worked out, as crazy as it sounds.

Oh Riley knew she was in for hell with the club, but she wasn't exactly well connected or reliant on the club so she wasn't overly worried but that didn't mean she wanted them to hate her or anything. But she wasn't going to just push these feelings aside. Well, Tig said she wouldn't be able to so she was just gonna go with it and see what happened. God her life had gotten complicated. She couldn’t wait to get home and lay down for a nap. She was seriously exhausted.

-TIMEY-WIMEY-

Ernest woke in the middle of the night, feeling groggy as he shook off the dream. He had been right when he thought the chair project would fuck with his head. His dreams were filled with nothing but Riley, sometimes they were sexual, and other times scarily domestic. Tonight had been a bit of both. The dream flashed through his mind unbidden, so very vivid.

_ Riley had come into the living room while he was reading in his chair in the living room making him look up at her with a smile. She returned the smile and walked toward him, pulling the book from his hands and placing it on the table beside the chair, then straddled his lap. He looked up at her and spoke. _

_ “Is she asleep?” Riley gave a dramatic sigh, dropping a lazy kiss to his lips before she spoke. _

_ “Yes finally. I don’t know what was keeping her up tonight.” He pulled her down for a firmer kiss before answering. _

_ “She seemed restless. Maybe she is growing again.” Riley hummed in agreement before running her hands down the sides of his face and leaning down to kiss him harshly, humming in happiness as he responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her down against him. She lightly ran her nails down his chest, opening her mouth to him as she shifted herself to where she was lightly grinding down against his clothed erection. Ernst could feel her grin when he gave a soft groan.  _

_ This went on for a few minutes, her grinding becoming more insistent as she lost her teasing edge and giving light moans.  _

_ Ernest finally moved his hands under her thighs and lifted her, getting up from his chair to carry her to the bedroom. Riley pulled away from the makeout session and grinned at him, arms winding around his neck. _

_ “Took you long enough.” Ernest snorted as he stopped at the foot of the bed. She looked back, then looked at him with a playful smile as she removed her arms from his neck and let herself drop back onto the bed, and peeled off her shirt before crawling backwards toward the pillows. He discarded his shirt and wifebeater before following her up the bed. By the time he reached her, her bra was also gone. It didn’t take long for him to be over her and for her to pull him down against her as she crashed her lips against his. His hands were running over her upper body and her hands had just gotten his belt undone when they both froze at the sound of a whimper. His eyes closed and head dropped to her shoulder as he prayed that their daughter stayed asleep. They had no such luck as a loud cry drifted through the house from her room. Riley sighed and went to get up, but Ernest stopped her. _

_ “I’ll get her.” She gave him a small smile as he moved off the bed and fixed his belt before leaving the room as she grabbed her shirt off the floor. Ernest moved to the room on the other side of the bathroom, seeing the little girl with little brown curls and green eyes standing there crying. She raised one arm when she saw him in the doorway, babbling at him. He gave her a smile as he walked to the crib and pulled her from her crib. She quieted down to sniffles at that point, making him sigh. “What’s got you up so late baby girl? You hurting?” The babay just stared up at him as he talked to her. Ernest turned to see Riley watching him from the door with a small smile. _

That was when the dream had ended and he woke with a sharp pain in his chest. Why did a dream make him feel so much? Show him so much that he couldn’t have and torture him with how real it seemed. How real they both felt, the way he felt about them felt. It left an emptiness in his chest that he didn’t know was even there to begin with. He heaved a sigh and moved to get out of bed, knowing he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep tonight. He couldn’t risk having another dream like that, it would just depress him further. He entered the kitchen to make some coffee, while trying to figure out what he wanted to do this early in the morning. He nixed reading from the list, dream to fresh in his mind. In the end he decided to work on her chair which he had going in his garage. He wanted to finish it as soon as possible, hoping being done with it and handing it off to her would help put her out of his mind. A fucked up form of closure.

Ernest growled, gripping the counter as he leaned over and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm the irritating ache in his chest at the thought. He then sighed heavily as he stood and grabbed a coffee mug from the cupboard in front of him. Who was he kidding? The dreams wouldn’t end when he gave her the chair, which he was trying to find a way to go without making her pay for without it being suspicious. He just didn’t feel right making her pay when all he wanted to do was give her everything. He had to again forcefully shove those thoughts away, because he knew it would never happen. Riley Teller would never want an old man like him, and he really needed to get that through his head because he was just hurting himself with these delusions. Ernest took a deep breath before heading to get dressed. Today would be a long day.

-TIMEY-WIMEY-

Riley was starting to regret taking that nap. Before the draw to Darby had been purely sexual, with of course the urge to know him, but the more time she spent with Abel the more she thought about wanting her own kids. She was getting serious baby fever and it was obvious who she would think of in terms of father material. But these new dreams about him and her being pregnant or them with a baby were driving her up a wall. It was hard for her to imagine him wanting to be with someone so much younger than himself, intense looks or not, let alone have kids at his age. She was going deeper into this dark hole of depression and she had no idea what to do. It didn’t take long for her behavior to be noticed by a certain President’s Old Lady. Riley was sitting at a picnic table alone when Gemma approached her.

“Alright, you have been like this for days. What’s got you so down?” Riley blinked up at her.

“Nothing.” Gemma scoffed and rolled her eyes as she sat down across from the younger woman. Then she got a sly look on her face.

“This got anything to do with some heated looks between you and a certain head of the Nords?” Riley’s head shot up and she looked at her aunt in horror.

“What?!” Gemma was smirking at her.

“You two aren’t that subtle about it. And given the fact you are so reluctant to tell me what has you so depressed I’m guessing it has something to do with him. So what is it?” Riley was staring at her in disbelief.

“Wh… You… You aren’t disgusted or disappointed or anything?” Gemma frowned at that.

“Baby, I could never be disgusted or disappointed by you. Well unless you hurt kids but I know you would never do that.And you should know by now you can talk to me about anything and I won’t judge you or betray your confidence. Now tell Aunt Gemma what’s wrong.” Riley bit her lips and sighed.

“He’s like 50 something Aunt Gem, he isn’t into someone my age.” Gemma shook her head.

“He’s only 48. As for him not being into you, I have known Ernest Darby for a long time, and the way he stares at you… He is definitely interested in you sweetheart. Honestly he probably thinks you wouldn’t want to be with someone his age.” Riley blinked at this information before sighing again.

“Okay, say that is the case. I want a family and I doubt he wants kids at his age, which would pose a problem.” Gemma shrugged.

“Maybe, maybe not. Honestly that man hasn’t shown any real interest in anyone before either. Sure there have been some girlfriends in the past but never for long. Point is, you won’t know anything if you don’t do something about it.” Riley groaned and thumped her head on the table.

“I’m no good with this shit. I have no idea what to do in this situation.” Gemma gave her a sympathetic smile. 

“Only advice I can give you is talk to him.” Riley looked ill at the idea. “Well if you want to know the answers to your questions, you’re going to have to ask him. How else would you know?” Riley shrugged but didn’t look any more willing to speak to him about it than before. Gemma sighed. “At least think about what I said okay?” This got her a small smile and a nod before they dropped the subject and started to talk about Abel. The conversation hadn’t left Gemma’s mind though and she hated seeing the woman she loved like a daughter suffer. She had to do something.

-TIMEY-WIMEY-

Ernest looked up to see Gemma entering his shop looking worried, which was never a good thing. She looked at him and got a determined look on her face, walking up to him. He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“Can I help you Gemma?” She sighed before speaking to him.

“We need to talk.” Ernest looked at her expectantly. “Privately.” He gave an irritated look but waved for her to follow him. He led her to his office and gestured for her to sit down, while taking his own seat behind his desk. He stared at her for a moment before addressing her.

“So what do we  _ have _ to talk about?” Ernest was being sarcastic but was a little unnerved by the look Gemma was giving him. It was like she was staring into his soul, trying to unravel all of his secrets. After a few minutes she smirked.

“We need to talk about the interest you and my niece have in each other.” Ernest froze at her words, then his eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean in each other?” Gemma smirked.

“So you don’t deny it?” Ernest didn’t answer, still wondering what she meant. Gemma rolled her eyes. “So I was right, you didn’t realize she was into you either.” She snorted when he gave a clueless look. “I thought you were smarter than that Ernie. Did the fact that she can’t stop staring at you not clue you in?” He looked uncertain at that.

“And your not just reading into it?” Gemma gave a small smile.

“I know both of you pretty well, though I’m surprised you didn’t at least try to deny it.” Ernest leaned back and sighed.

“Well it’s obvious you aren’t angry, or you would have started out by yelling at me about it. How can you seriously be okay with me having a thing for your niece? And better yet, how can you be so sure the feeling is mutual? I mean, I’m 25 years older than her, why the hell would she want someone so much older?” Gemma leaned back.

“Riley has always been into older men, and I know you Ernest. If anything were to happen you would treat her well, do anything to make her happy. You’re loyal, which is more than I can say for most men these days. She could do worse. And as for how I know the feeling is mutual is because I talked to her about it. Tried to get her to talk to you herself but she isn’t convinced that you could feel anything for someone her age.” 

“You, being you, just had to meddle.” Gemma scowled at him.

“I don’t like when my babies are hurting and you know I am a blunt person, so it was easiest for me to come speak to you and hopefully get at least one of you to listen and talk to the other one.” Ernest sighed and ran his hand down his face, before looking at Gemma with a grim expression.

“Even if I was to talk to her about it, it would never work out. The Club would never except it Gemma, and that would cut her off from family if she chose me over them. I couldn’t let that happen.” Gemma gave him a smile.

“Ernie, she is the princess and even if she wasn’t she has made it very clear over the years that she is not going to bow down to anyone’s demands. She made sure everyone knows she is a grown woman who can make her own choices. I don’t think it is fair for you to try to make that choice for the both of you.” Ernest closed his eyes, leaned back and groaned in frustration before looking at Gemma again.

“Why does your entire family complicate my life?” This caused the older woman to smirk in amusement.

“What can I say? We are just talented like that.” Ernest snorted, running his hands over his hands over his face again. After a few minutes of silence he finally spoke up.

“Fine I’ll try talking to her, but I can’t guarantee it will do anything.” Gemma nodded.

“That’s all I ask. Alright I’ll leave you alone now.” She got up and headed for the door while he stayed seated. She turned back for a moment to say one last thing to him. “Thought you should know she has been depressed thinking about all this. Including that she doesn’t think you would want kids at your age when she wants them.” With that Gemma walked out the door and closed it behind her. Ernest stared after her in surprise for a moment before groaning and slumping over his desk. Why did she have to tell him that? Images from the dream a couple days ago surfaced and taunted him. He decided he hated Gemma in that moment, dangling that little shred of hope in front of him, making him remember those feelings that the dream had brought forward.

Ernest then growled as he sat up. He didn’t like how complicated this all was but he also wasn’t willing to not give her up if he had some kind of chance. He would be a little more cautious but he had no reason to think Gemma would want to humiliate him and possibly alienate her niece so he would at least talk to the woman who now had a permanent place in his mind. He just had to figure out when and where to talk to her and what to say. What the fuck should he say?


	3. Well Fuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now you see, Ernest didn't know how to handle the situation.

It had been three days since Gemma had visited Ernest and he was no closer to figuring out how to talk to Riley, but he had been watching her carefully. He started to notice how forlorn she looked and how fake her smiles looked. It made him feel guilty since he was starting to believe Gemma that he was the cause of the unhappiness she was going through. It would be a lot easier if he wasn’t the head of the Nords and her the SAMCRO princess but he was trying not to dwell on that right now. He was too much of a selfish man to let that bother him for too long, despite what he had told Gemma previously. If he had the chance to make Riley his, he would take it and run with it. Just had to get her alone for a little while. Easier said than done.

-TIMEY-WIMEY-

Riley had thought about what her aunt had said and was seriously considering trying to talk to Darby about how she felt. Gemma had known the man for years and would know better than her what the heated glances meant. The way she talked about it, she really should have realized it sooner. She huffed to herself. It wasn’t her fault she had almost no experience in this area. No one had really interested her before so of course she wouldn’t know. That wasn’t to say she was a virgin or anything but she hadn’t stayed with anyone for more than six months and it was never serious so… Yeah… Ugh, this was beyond irritating!!! 

In the end she decided to head to his shop to ask about the pricing of the chair, just to be able to see him again. God she was so fucked, and not in the good way. Yet. Riley shook her head. No she couldn’t think like that right now, she might end up doing something stupid, especially after the dream she had last night.  
Riley led Ernest into her apartment, shutting the door behind her. Suddenly she was lifted and pressed against the door as his lips found hers. She kissed him back as her arms went around his neck and her legs wound his waist. He growled low in his throat as he pressed into her and ran his hands over her thighs. She whimpered and ground down against him. 

The dream started to fade out as her alarm went off and she growled in frustration as she woke hot and bothered. It was becoming a recurring theme the last couple weeks. Have a sexy dream and wake up before it went anywhere. And then there had been the scarily sweet dream before it.

Riley had been at the sink doing the dishes, stomach round with child when Ernest had come up behind her, pressed himself against her back and wrapped his arms around her. He rested one hand on her hip and the other on her stomach.

"How are my girls doing?" He asked, resting his chin on her shoulder. Riley smiled and leaned back into him while he rubbed her stomach.

"We're doing good. My feet are hurting a little bit but that's normal. Still can't believe this is happening." Ernest chuckled.

"I can't either. I'm almost 50 and have a hot young wife and a kid on the way. Never saw that coming." Riley rolled her eyes and turned to face him. She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him lightly.

"Well it's true. And your hot young wife is really horny right now." His hands had moved to her hips and hers to the back of his neck.

"Is she now?" Riley nodded, nibbling his bottom lip before answering.

"Yeah. Are you going to do something about it?" Ernest grinned and pulled her forward into a kiss. The dream then shifted over to the one that had left her frustrated. 

Riley sighed and bit her lip as she pulled into a parking spot in front of Darby’s shop. She was trying to settle her nerves before going inside. She then growled in irritation. This had to stop. Whether her aunt was right or not she still needed to get that chair from him eventually so she just had to go inside and have a normal fucking conversation with him. With that thought in mind she grabbed her purse and got out of the car, walking toward the door. Ernest was at the front desk on the small computer there, looking up as the bell rang over the door. They stood staring at each other for a moment until she broke the silence.

“Hi.” He blinked and responded.

“Hi.” They stared for another moment before Ernest pulled himself together. “What brings you in today?” This broke Riley out of her little trance and she moved closer to the counter with a small smile.

“Came to talk about the price of the chair you are building me.” This response caused Ernest to grimace a bit before he could stop himself causing her eyes to narrow. “What is it?” 

“Nothing.” He regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth, it just made her more suspicious. “I mean I haven’t figured out a price yet is all.” Riley’s head tipped to the side.

“Really?” Ernest’s lack of a better answer and her curiosity was irritating him. Why did she have him so out of sorts? He sighed in irritation.

“I said it would take at least a week, not that it would be exactly a week so don’t be surprised.” Riley’s face went blank after that and she gave a jerky nod before turning and walking toward the door. She turned as her hand was on the handle.

“Have a good day then Mr.Darby, give me a call when you have figured out a price.” With that she yanked the door open and hightailed it to her truck. Ernest watched her go, before leaning forward on his elbows and placing his face in his hands with a frustrated groan. He had really fucked that up. That was not how he had wanted their next meeting to go. He had wanted to invite her to his office so they could talk, so he could find out if Gemma had been telling the truth… He obviously couldn’t execute a plan to save his life, at least if it had to do with him personally and not the Nords. Ernest sighed and stood up. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he needed to figure it out fast.


	4. Not Gonna Help The Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luckily, Riley is more rational then Ernest and she is going to get the answers she wants.

Riley sat in her truck for a few minutes, drawing in calming breaths. She seriously didn’t understand why he would get irritated so fast. It was a valid question. Unless… She perked up. Unless he was lying to her. At that thought her eyes narrowed. He knew how much it would cost her for the chair, but for some reason he didn’t want to tell her, but why? Did he not want to make her the chair and just didn’t want to tell her? Or was it something else? God this was irritating. 

Riley leaned back for a moment trying to figure out what to do before she straightened. Her aunt was right, she wouldn’t get any answers if she didn’t ask him herself. She grabbed her purse yet again and exited her truck, striding toward the glass door with determination. She was gonna get some goddamn answers.

Ernest had been turned away when she walked away and turned around, freezing when he saw it was her. She walked up to the counter with determination, looking up at him.

“Why won’t you tell me the price? And don’t tell me that it’s because you haven’t figured it out yet, you wouldn’t have gotten irritated so fast if you weren’t hiding it from me for some reason.” Ernest looked surprised for a moment before he sighed and gestured for her to follow him, lifting the section of counter that blocked entrance to the back half of the shop for her to pass through. She followed him to his office door, him holding it open for her to pass through before shutting it behind them. Riley sat in a chair in front of his desk while he dropped into the one behind. They sat for a few minutes in silence, just staring at each other before Ernest finally decided to go for it and speak.

“I don’t want you to pay for the chair.” Riley’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Why?” Ernest stared at her intently, trying to decide if this was the best time to bring up his interest. He then decided this may be the only chance he has to have this conversation and plows forward.

“I don’t feel right having you pay for the chair… When I just want to give you everything anyway.” Riley’s eyes went wide as she looked at him.

“What?” Ernest sighed.

“I don’t know how else to put it Riley. I want you. I have since I saw you drive into town, and not just once either.” Riley’s breath caught. Sure her aunt had told her that he thought he was interested in her, but to be actually faced with it was another thing entirely.

“You want me… As in you want to be with me?” She was afraid to hope. Riley had honestly never felt this way about anyone before, and she didn’t know how to feel in that moment. She watched as he took a deep breath before answering.

“I do yes. I’ve wanted it so bad that I’ve even been having dreams about us being together.” At this Riley froze.

“You… You’ve been having dreams too?” Ernest leaned forward to look at her. 

“What do your dreams entail Riley?” She bit her bottom lip, but surprisingly holding his gaze.

“A lot of things… All having to do with us together…” Ernest nodded as he leaned back.

“So she was telling the truth.” Riley gave him a confused look.

“Who was telling the truth?” Ernest looked like he was debating answering her, deciding to tell her the truth in the end.

“Gemma came to me a couple days ago to tell me about the fact that she had noticed we both had feelings for each other.” Riley tensed up but before she could say anything, Ernest gave her a look and continued. “She was worried about you. She thought you keeping it to yourself was hurting you. I’ve wanted to talk to you since then but didn’t get the chance.”

Riley hummed. “Then why did you get irritated with me earlier instead of just trying to talk to me before I walked out?” At this he sighed, running a hand down his face.

“I had planned to talk to you about it when I saw you but… You see I don’t do this. I don’t do the having feelings for someone, telling them about them, having relationships. So I fucked up. Or at least I thought I had. I hadn’t been expecting you to walk in earlier and I was beyond surprised when you came back after you walked out.” Riley nodded giving a small smile.

“Yeah, I can’t say I really do the feeling and relationship thing either. I had honestly never planned to tell you anything, but Aunt Gemma talked me into it. I didn’t realize she was playing both sides of the damn fence, but here we are. I suppose I just couldn’t understand it.” Ernest snorts.

“The attraction you mean?” Riley shrugs at the question.

“Not so much the attraction. I have always been into older men, as both Tig and Aunt Gemma have pointed out to me. No what I couldn’t understand was the level of emotions tied into it. I barely know anything about you, and you me. I…” Ernest took a deep breath before he replied.

“I know. The dreams aren’t helping you either are they?” Riley shook her head but otherwise stayed quiet. “Yeah me neither. As for not knowing each other… We could try to change that… If you want to.” Ernest really hated this, the uncertainty he was feeling. He hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t do the whole emotion thing. The only reason he wasn’t trying to shove her away was because 1) he honestly didn’t know if he could at this point, and 2) she seemed to be just as uncertain as him about all of this. Riley smiled at him.

“I would really like that. But we will have to keep it quiet for now, that we are talking to each other. I don’t want Club drama to interfere with my getting to know you. I say we worry about that shit if this actually goes anywhere.” Ernest nodded along with the suggestion.

“Yeah good idea. I don’t need Jackson Teller showing up and trying to shoot me for talking to his cousin. Or any of the Club for that matter.” This gained a good natured eye roll from Riley before he continued. “But we can pick this up another time. I’ll give you my number so you can text or call me if you want to talk.” Riley wordlessly handed over her phone, then upon getting it back sent him a text so he would have her number. She slowly got up, him quickly doing the same.

“I guess I should go, before someone gets suspicious.” Ernest nodded as they both moved to the one side of his desk, facing each other. Riley swallowed as she stared up at him, last nights dream flashing through her mind. Her eyes flicked down to his lips for a second before she muttered. “Fuck it.” She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to be able to kiss him, swiping her tongue over his bottom lip before she bit it. 

As quick as she had grabbed him, she let him go and quickly left his office. He blinked as he watched her duck under the counter, go out the front door and run to her truck. After he watched he watched her pull out of the lot, he shut the door to his office door and sat down in his chair. He then licked his lips, getting a taste of her. This made him groan and lean forward, putting his face in his hands for the second time that day. That kiss really wasn’t going to help the dreams. Not a bit.


	5. How'd We Miss That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was right, the kiss didn't help the dreams but it was nice to be able to talk to her now. And what was that other thing?

Ernest had been right. The kiss definitely hadn’t helped the dreams at all. Knowing what her lips felt and tasted like gave a whole new level to the vividness of the dreams. Later the night of the kiss for example.

Dream

_ Riley was leaning with her back against his side, Kindle in her hands and a book in his. They sat like that reading for a few minutes before she put down her Kindle and turned around to lean into him. _

_ "I can't focus on my book." Ernest looked over at her, putting his book down.  _

_ "And why would that be?" Riley grinned, straddling him and wrapping her arms around his neck. _

_ "I can't stop thinking about you fucking me into the mattress and giving me beautiful babies." She leaned down and kissed him, settling herself in his lap. His hands rested on her hips and kissed her back for a moment before he pulled away. _

_ "I think that entails moving to the bedroom." Riley hummed and removed herself from him, standing and walking toward the hallway, shorts riding low on her hips, glancing back at him with a smile. _

_ "Come on Ernie, don't want me to start without you. "He didn’t think he had ever gotten up so fast in his life.  _

He went to follow her and the dream ended due to his alarm going off. He sat up and rubbed a hand down his face before he slammed his hand down on his alarm. That had been a mild dream but it was no less frustrating. He could still feel the weight of her in his lap, feel her lips on his. He couldn’t say he hated her kissing him but he wasn’t exactly enjoying the results. Okay maybe a little but it was still frustrating. He got out of bed and went to grab a cup of coffee, grabbing his phone off the nightstand as he went.

Ernest stared down at his phone while he waited for his coffee to brew, debating sending Rylie a good morning message. That was normal, right? That was something people trying to get to know each other did? He sighed and picked up his phone, sending her a quick message before almost slamming his phone back on the counter. This was more nerve wracking then he thought it would be. What if she didn’t respond? What if she thought it was weird? Ernest groaned in frustration. This whole thing may be harder than he thought.

-TIMEY-WHIMEY-

Rylie groaned as she was pulled out of yet another dream about a baby with Ernest by her phone going off. She fumbled with it on the table and almost dropped it on the floor before she finally got it on the bed next to her head. She blinked to try rid her eyes of the blurriness that clouded her vision. Once she knew she would be able to see the screen she fumbled to do her pin to open her phone but once she finally got it open, she was confused by the text notification. She rolled onto her back as she opened it and smiled when she saw what it was.

_ Good morning beautiful - E _

Rylie was pleasantly surprised to get a text from Ernest this early. It definitely made her happy. She grinned as he sent a message back.

_ Good morning handsome - R _

Still grinning, she got up to start her morning routine, even if it was earlier than she would have liked. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep anyway, she was too giddy. It had been a while since she had looked forward to talking to someone.

\--------------------------TIMEY----WHIMEY-------------------------------

Ernest heard his phone go off and hesitated in grabbing it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know her response. He finally sucked it up and smiled when he saw her response. He took a drink of his coffee before he sent a response.

_ How are you this morning?-E _

He didn’t have to wait long for a response.

_ Well it’s earlier than I usually wake up tbh, but so far so good.-R _

Ernest winced at that.

_ I didn’t wake you up did I?-E _

_ You did but that’s okay. Worse ways to wake up ;p-R _

Ernest grinned at that, shaking his head. Jesus, she was making him act like a kid again. He was still trying to figure out if that was a good thing or not. It was definitely interesting, that was for sure. 

_ What are your plans for the day?-E _

_ I am running some errands for my aunt this morning but after that I just plan to hang at home.-R  _

Ernest stared at his phone for a moment, thinking about his response. He wanted to ask if she wanted to talk on the phone later but he also didn’t want to sound like a desperate and needy idiot so he decided to keep it casual.

_ Well I gotta work today, hope you have a good day.-E _

  
  


\-----------TIMEY---------WHIMEY-----------------------------------------

Riley pouted a bit at the message. Him being at work meant no talking to him, at least until he got off work. She bit her lip before she responded.

_ Do you maybe… Want to talk later?-R  _

_ Sure :) I’ll message you after work.-E _

Riley grinned and danced around before getting ready to get stuff done so she would be free later tonight to talk. She was actually really excited to be able to talk to him and get to know outside of the little things she has heard over the years. She was grinning all day as she went about her business, getting a raised eyebrow from Tig and a knowing look from Gemma when she came to drop off the stuff Gemma had asked her to get. Gemma had her close the office door behind her when she came in. 

“So from that grin on your face, you and Darby finally talked?” Riley rolled her eyes but answered.

“Yes we did, Miss Nosey. I didn’t need you to go talk to him for me you know.” Now it was Gemma’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Yeah well I did anyway. I knew that you two wouldn’t end up talking if Ernest didn’t know you felt something too. He would have just pushed you away to save himself in the end. So I gave a push. How are things going?” The grin returned to Riley’s face.

“I feel it’s going good so far. I mean we only just talked yesterday but he texted me this morning and we are going to talk later tonight. We’ll see how that goes I guess.” Gemma had a smirk on her face which always made Riley sigh, because it was her I told you so smirk. “Shut up woman, I would have figured it out eventually. Or gone crazy, not sure which at this point. Anyway, gonna head home and do nothing at all. Well maybe I’ll have a nap, not sure yet. Call me if you need anything else.” Gemma gave her a warm smile then.

“Okay baby, thanks for doing the running for me today. Have a good rest of the day. Riley nodded with a smile before she headed to her truck, waving to people as she went. Once she was in her truck, she sighed. Now she had nothing to do while waiting for Ernest to get off of work and message her… It was going to be torture. She drove home and did decide a nap would be a good idea.

_ Dream _

_ Riley woke to a soft snore in her ear, a body pressed solidly to her back, one of Ernest’s arms under her pillow and head, the other over her waist. Riley grinned and carefully turned her body to where she was facing him instead of having her back to him. She slowly slid her arms around his neck, causing him to twitch but not yet wake. She hummed as she started to give him light kisses. She grinned when he woke and kissed her back, causing her to hum in happiness. Then he pulled away and stared down at her for a moment, and an unreadable expression. _

_ “What? What’s with the look?” Ernest gave her a smile then. _

_ “Guess I’m still can’t believe you’re here. Can’t believe you want an old man like me.” Riley rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss him again. _

_ “Well I am here, and do want you. Very much so. I’ve made up my mind so you’re stuck with me, get used to it.” Ernest chuckled as Riley lightly pushed him lay on his back and moved to straddle him. She stared down at him with a small smile before draping herself over him. “You aren’t the only one who is surprised by the turn of events. I didn’t think you would be into someone so much younger than yourself, or want the things I want… Didn’t think there was anyway you would feel the way I do, but here we are, and I don’t plan on going anywhere. I would like to think you aren’t either.” She bit her lip and looked away from him uncertainly. She gasped in shock when Ernest swiftly flipped them and her pinned to the bed, a serious look on his face. _

_ “I’m not going anywhere. You’ve been stuck with me since you agreed to get to know each other. You’re mine and I have no plans to ever change that, understood?” Riley had a wide smile on her face as she nodded and pulled him down into a kiss, rolling her hips up into his causing to let out a surprised groan. Riley moaned at the sound. Ernest was usually very controlled when it came to the sounds he made so she loved when she was able to get him to break that habit. He bit her bottom lip in retaliation before his mouth moved to her neck, making her whimper at the feel of his lips on her skin. Before he could go any further she grabbed his head so he was looking at her as she spoke. _

_ “I love you.” Her words caused him to grin. _

_ “And I love you.” He kissed her again as the room got hazy and the Horn of Helms Deep filled the space. _

_ End Dream _

Riley jerked awake gasping as the text notification went off on her phone. She was breathing heavily and tears pricked her eyes. Fuck, she could feel the weight of those words in her chest, the intense emotions they made her feel. And she barely fucking knew him, didn’t in anyway know if the thoughts that had drifted through her head were anywhere near true. But God did she want to. She wanted to know everything about him. The good, the bad, the secrets he keeps from everyone else… It honestly terrified her the depth of these feelings she felt for him, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. She took a deep breath and decided to table these thoughts and looked to her phone since it was what had woken her. She really hoped it was Ernest messaging but instead the name Crazy-Eyed Fuckhead popped up making Riley snort. She had forgotten she let Happy change the names in her phone at the last party while they smoked a couple bowls with Juice and laughed about bullshit. She opened the message to read.

_ Hey, Gemma told me you and Darby finally talked. How’d that go Doll?- C _

_ It went good I guess. He texted me first this morning and we are going to talk on the phone tonight.- R _

_ Why only on the phone? I figured you would talk in person with how close you two are to each other.- C _

Riley stared at her phone. Close? While yes she had these unexplainable feelings for him, she didn’t really know his feelings outside of definitely being interested in her so she couldn’t say they were close either. What the hell did Tig mean?

_ How close we are? We’re not close yet, that is kinda the point.-R _

_ Not that kind of close Doll. I meant physical distance. Didn’t you know that his house is right behind yours?-C  _

Riley blinked down at her phone before she grinned. This actually might be easier than she thought.

_ I did not know that, it is very good to know though. Thank you kindly.-R  _

_ Anytime Doll, good luck.-C _

Riley switched over her screen to the messages between her and Ernest.

_ Hey, I know you said you would be the one to message me but I learned something interesting. Did you know that we live behind each other? -R _

  
  


\----------------------------TIMEY------------WHIMEY---------------------

Ernest had been doing some paperwork in his office when he heard his phone go off. He glanced to see Riley’s name flash across his screen. He was quick to pick up his phone to see what she had to say. To say he was shocked was an understatement. How the fuck hadn’t he noticed that she lived right behind him? But this would definitely help things. They wouldn’t have that hard a time seeing each other if they just had to go over a fence. A couple privacy fences but still, not that hard.

_ How did we miss that?-E _

_ Oh hi! Didn’t think you would answer till you were off work. Yeah I have no idea how we missed that. But I think it will make things work out better.-R _

Ernest sat back and ran a hand down his face. Like this morning he didn’t want to seem needy and desperate but now that he knew she was so close, he wanted to see her in person, where he didn’t have to worry how he acted instead of talking on the phone.

_ Would you mind meeting in person tonight?-E _

Again, he did not have to wait long and her message made him smile.

_ I would love to.-R  _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
